Interesting finds behind back seat

[Edwards]

Have been meaning to pull back the carpet behind the back seats just to lay eyes on the battery pack and sub. Glad I did. A few observations:

1. The carpet "bridge" between the back of the rear console and the carpeted back wall is magnetic. You can just pull it straight off if you needed to get below it for any reason. I was getting a little annoyed at how that piece of plastic underneath the carpet was making an imprint on my rear console leather cover. You could just leave it down but then you'd have two holes and two magnets to look at.

Pulling up the back wall carpet is fairly easy:

• Pull seats forward using string releases up near top.
• Pull two round and long center plastic push rivets out.
• Pull carpet from back - pull more in middle to allow some flex to pull out of side hard plastic molding. No need to remove molding.
• Unclip plastic housing around center seat belt. Unsnaps from driver's side with hinge on passenger's side and lifts off.
• You can remove the whole carpet if desired, but no need for this exercise.
• To reinstall, wedge sides back behind plastic molding and then push center to pop it all back, then reinstall all parts removed,

2. I was a bit surprised to find a fair amount of road dirt all in the vents and into the cab. Those are supposed to be extraction vents (one way out of cab) and the flappers appear to be working fine. I'm wondering if it's due to being open so much because of the sub, i.e. we're not supposed to jam out on a dusty road?


3. Another poster mentioned that he found a loose item low center on the back wall. It's absolutely a source of rattling. It's one of the LF antennas and it looks like Ram has a batch of small plastic push rivets that are out of spec - too small. Found several on the back wall but this was the only item that is clearly banging on the metal wall. Stuck a piece of foam behind it and it's nice and snug now. It's the smaller item in the center that says LF antenna:


4. I also noticed that the back of the carpet wall from the drivers side to about where the battery (eTorque) starts, there is a vinyl layer on the back of the carpet, almost like some type of factory dynamat.

Also tried checking on my sunroof drain tubes from the inside. Driver's side looked perfect (was installed correctly from the factory) but the passenger side cannot be checked without removing the subwoofer. Maybe they are popping them out when they install the subs?

Anyway, all buttoned up and another rattle eliminated.

 

[bonebro]

When I fixed the LF rattle back there, I also was trying to reduce the road noise coming in thru the extraction vents. I could hear a lot of road noise from the back seat when driving, so I had the wife drive me around while I investigated. When I lowered the rear center console and put my ear by the carpet on the back wall, you could hear the road plain as day! For now, as a quick fix, I put a couple micro fiber towels over the vents after pulling the seat backs/carpet and also stuffed a towel in the hole in the carpet under the seat. It has drastically reduced the road noise! This is also when I found the LF antenna loose. I didn’t look close like Edward did; it looked like a resistor to me! Ha

 

[Paulny]

Have been meaning to pull back the carpet behind the back seats just to lay eyes on the battery pack and sub. Glad I did. A few observations:

1. The carpet "bridge" between the back of the rear console and the carpeted back wall is magnetic. You can just pull it straight off if you needed to get below it for any reason. I was getting a little annoyed at how that piece of plastic underneath the carpet was making an imprint on my rear console leather cover. You could just leave it down but then you'd have two holes and two magnets to look at.

Pulling up the back wall carpet is fairly easy:

• Pull seats forward using string releases up near top.
• Pull two round and long center plastic push rivets out.
• Pull carpet from back - pull more in middle to allow some flex to pull out of side hard plastic molding. No need to remove molding.
• Unclip plastic housing around center seat belt. Unsnaps from driver's side with hinge on passenger's side and lifts off.
• You can remove the whole carpet if desired, but no need for this exercise.
• To reinstall, wedge sides back behind plastic molding and then push center to pop it all back, then reinstall all parts removed,

View attachment 10712

2. I was a bit surprised to find a fair amount of road dirt all in the vents and into the cab. Those are supposed to be extraction vents (one way out of cab) and the flappers appear to be working fine. I'm wondering if it's due to being open so much because of the sub, i.e. we're not supposed to jam out on a dusty road?
View attachment 10715

3. Another poster mentioned that he found a loose item low center on the back wall. It's absolutely a source of rattling. It's one of the LF antennas and it looks like Ram has a batch of small plastic push rivets that are out of spec - too small. Found several on the back wall but this was the only item that is clearly banging on the metal wall. Stuck a piece of foam behind it and it's nice and snug now. It's the smaller item in the center that says LF antenna:
View attachment 10716

4. I also noticed that the back of the carpet wall from the drivers side to about where the battery (eTorque) starts, there is a vinyl layer on the back of the carpet, almost like some type of factory dynamat.

Also tried checking on my sunroof drain tubes from the inside. Driver's side looked perfect (was installed correctly from the factory) but the passenger side cannot be checked without removing the subwoofer. Maybe they are popping them out when they install the subs?

Anyway, all buttoned up and another rattle eliminated.

Were you able to snap a picture of the drivers side drain tube while you had the carpet pulled back? I would love to see what it is supposed to look like. I realize you couldn't get to the passenger side.

 

[Chippy]

Great info thx for posting

 

[RAMREB]

Great info, thank you! I believe these vents are the source of significant road noise for me as well.

 

[Edwards]

Were you able to snap a picture of the drivers side drain tube while you had the carpet pulled back? I would love to see what it is supposed to look like. I realize you couldn't get to the passenger side.

No, I didn't because it was fully sealed as I could tell from the outside. You just need to ensure the flange on the gasket is fully inside the cab with the rest of it outside.
I was more focused on potential causes for how they got popped out.

 

[tonyplants]

Were you able to snap a picture of the drivers side drain tube while you had the carpet pulled back? I would love to see what it is supposed to look like. I realize you couldn't get to the passenger side.

Here's a pic of rear driver's side-incorrectly installed

 

[Paulny]

Here's a pic of rear driver's side-incorrectly installed

Thanks for the picture. After seeing that, I wonder if mine are sealed correctly even after I tried to properly seat them for over an hour from underneath the truck. Since I have a Rebel, I may have to remove my rear seats, and then pull back the carpet. That picture doesn't inspire confidence even if the little rubber grommet was seated correctly. I think shooting some silicone around that whole area from the inside is the only way to 100% ensure water doesn't get in.

 

[tonyplants]

Thanks for the picture. After seeing that, I wonder if mine are sealed correctly even after I tried to properly seat them for over an hour from underneath the truck. Since I have a Rebel, I may have to remove my rear seats, and then pull back the carpet. That picture doesn't inspire confidence even if the little rubber grommet was seated correctly. I think shooting some silicone around that whole area from the inside is the only way to 100% ensure water doesn't get in.

It's pretty easy to get into from the inside. I'd see what yours looks like, then decide best approach. I'm not messing with mine, taking to dealer after new year. I suspect if properly seated, it should be good, however I'll be keeping an eye on mine after they seat it, if it moves after that, I'll consider some adhesive.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Jhill]

Do Rebel seat backs release to see this area? Or do you unbolt them?

 

[Jhill]

Here's a pic of rear driver's side-incorrectly installed

Look closely at photo and I see a stain from a water trail from above the grommet, maybe back window has a leak as well as the grommet being installed improperly. There were others that complained of back windows not being sealed totally and allowing road noise or rain water in. Just worth a look.

 

[Edwards]

Looks like others working on interior road noise thread found that Ram started deleting the center cab-to-bed seal and now I suspect that's what has led to me getting dirt inside the cab through the rear vents. I checked any my Limited does not have it so I just ordered one. I've not had issues with road noise but it does concern me that outside dirt and who knows what else is getting in as shown in the pics above.
Not sure I'll clean them out but will keep an eye on this after I install the seal to see if it makes any difference.

 

[Fidomac]

Do Rebel seat backs release to see this area? Or do you unbolt them?

They tilt forward by pulling a string loop release just under the rear headrests... reach through folded down center console to access this

 

[kjn86]

They tilt forward by pulling a string loop release just under the rear headrests... reach through folded down center console to access this

Rebels do NOT release with the string. Must be unbolted. I looked for 20 minutes and posted this question in its own thread. His question was from more than 3 months ago too, so I feel like he's figured this out. Just don't want someone to read this thread and start looking for a non-existent string in a Rebel like I did.

 

[zx3junglist]

I have the limited with the 40/20/40 rear seats and can confirm that they tilt forward by reaching in with the middle console down and pulling the loop string downward. You can't tilt them too far forward without detaching the seatback fabric, but you can definitely get some access if need be. Not much back there of interest but useful for swapping the sub, checking out the eTorque battery, fixing the sunroof drain line grommets, etc. I plan on making a short video to show folks how-to get at it.

 

[jimk hunt]

I have the limited with the 40/20/40 rear seats and can confirm that they tilt forward by reaching in with the middle console down and pulling the loop string downward. You can't tilt them too far forward without detaching the seatback fabric, but you can definitely get some access if need be. Not much back there of interest but useful for swapping the sub, checking out the eTorque battery, fixing the sunroof drain line grommets, etc. I plan on making a short video to show folks how-to get at it.

I really need this video. I can't get the seats to release no matter how hard and which loop I pull on! My passenger side drain plug is not properly seated. Thanks.

 

[duke2001]

I really need this video. I can't get the seats to release no matter how hard and which loop I pull on! My passenger side drain plug is not properly seated. Thanks.

Not to quibble with the person who told you to pull down on the lanyard, but on my Limited, it takes a pull parallel to the rear window and toward the center of the truck. Just confirmed it. Cheers

 

[duke2001]

I really need this video. I can't get the seats to release no matter how hard and which loop I pull on! My passenger side drain plug is not properly seated. Thanks.

Also, if it is your passenger side drain plug, my advice is to raise the truck to the highest level, then crawl under and fix it from below on the outside. It is a stretch, but can be done. If you go at it from the inside, you are going to have to remove the subwoofer to get at the drain. On the other hand, if you want to take the time to do it that way, you should probably run a bead of silicon around the drain where it penetrates the cab and do both sides. This is a 100% plus fix for future problems. When I got my truck, my driver side drain was not properly installed. I did the crawl under and fix method. No leaks. If I ever have to really get behind the seats, I will put the silicon to it.

 

[jimk hunt]

Also, if it is your passenger side drain plug, my advice is to raise the truck to the highest level, then crawl under and fix it from below on the outside. It is a stretch, but can be done. If you go at it from the inside, you are going to have to remove the subwoofer to get at the drain. On the other hand, if you want to take the time to do it that way, you should probably run a bead of silicon around the drain where it penetrates the cab and do both sides. This is a 100% plus fix for future problems. When I got my truck, my driver side drain was not properly installed. I did the crawl under and fix method. No leaks. If I ever have to really get behind the seats, I will put the silicon to it.

I'll try from under the truck. Still can't get the seats to release.........thanks.

 

[SColang22]

Looks like others working on interior road noise thread found that Ram started deleting the center cab-to-bed seal and now I suspect that's what has led to me getting dirt inside the cab through the rear vents. I checked any my Limited does not have it so I just ordered one. I've not had issues with road noise but it does concern me that outside dirt and who knows what else is getting in as shown in the pics above.
Not sure I'll clean them out but will keep an eye on this after I install the seal to see if it makes any difference.

Where does that seal go? Been trying to figure that out